"The London Bachelor"

"The Bachelor"

"The Gorgeous Lady Friend"

"Favorite London Eatery: Hibiscus"

"The Pad"

"The Auto's"

Boat Game

The summer is full of surprises. One of those surprises can be a party on a boat or if it is really exclusive, a yacht. Whatever the occasion, boat parties help us appreciate the true essence of summer. ENJOY!!!!

The Best Chess Player Ever: Bobby Fischer

Robert James "Bobby" Fischer (March 9, 1943 – January 17, 2008) was an American chess player and the eleventh World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author. After ending his competitive career, he proposed a new variant of chess and a modified chess timing system. Both ideas have received some support in recent years.

Widely considered a "chess legend", at age 13 Fischer won a “brilliancy” that became known as The Game of the Century. Starting at age 14, he played in eight United States Championships, winning each by at least a point. At 15½, he became both the youngest grandmaster and the youngest Candidate for the World Championship up until that time. He won the 1963–64 U.S. Championship 11–0, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament. In the early 1970s he became the most dominant player in modern history – winning the 1970 Interzonal by a record 3½-point margin and winning 20 consecutive games, including two unprecedented 6–0 sweeps in the Candidates Matches. According to research by Jeff Sonas, in 1971 Fischer had separated himself from the rest of the world by a larger margin of playing skill than any player since the 1870s.He became the first official World Chess Federation (Fédération Internationale des Échecs) (FIDE) number one rated chess player in July 1971, and his 54 total months at number one is the third longest of all time.

In 1972, he captured the World Championship from Boris Spassky of the USSR in a match held in Reykjavík, Iceland that was widely publicized as a Cold War confrontation. The match attracted more worldwide interest than any chess match before or since. In 1975, Fischer declined to defend his title when he could not come to agreement with FIDE over the conditions for the match. He became more reclusive and did not play competitive chess again until 1992, when he won an unofficial rematch against Spassky. This competition was held in Yugoslavia, which was then under a United Nations embargo.This led to a conflict with the U.S. government, and Fischer never returned to his native country.

In his later years, Fischer lived in Hungary, Germany, the Philippines, Japan, and Iceland. During this time he made increasingly anti-American and antisemitic statements, despite his Jewish ancestry. After his U.S. passport was revoked over the Yugoslavia sanctions issue, he was detained by Japanese authorities for nine months in 2004 and 2005 under threat of deportation. In February 2005, Iceland granted him right of residence as a "stateless" alien and issued him a passport. When Japan refused to release him to Iceland on that basis, Iceland's parliament voted in March 2005 to give him full citizenship. The Japanese authorities then released him to that country, where he lived until his death in 2008.

Hermes

Hermes belts for the men and Birkin Bags for the women.

Goyard Company

Goyard is a French luggage manufacturer established in 1853 by François Goyard (1828–1890), located on the rue Saint-Honoré in Paris. The fabric represents three chevrons, juxtaposed to form a Y. This evokes not only the name of the Maison itself, but also the tree; symbolizing three centuries of the Goyard family history and their "Compagnon de Rivière" ancestors. Goyard has retail stores in Paris, Beverly Hills, Boston, Hong Kong, Kyoto, London, New York, Osaka, San Francisco, São Paulo, Seoul and Tokyo.

François Goyard was born on 8 September 1828, in Clamecy, Burgundy. For the previous two centuries his family had been part of the Compagnon de Rivière, a guild of transporters of wood, by river, from the forests of Morvan up to Paris where it was used to heat homes in the city. The Goyards would float wood in rafts seventy five metres long and five metres wide, taking eleven days to navigate 220 kilometer distance up the Yonne and the Seine Rivers to their destination. The return journey would be made on foot. In 1832, François’ father Edme Goyard (1801–1879) decided to move his family to Paris. In 1845, the 17 year-old François became apprenticed to the workshop of Henri Morel who, in 1836 had acquired Maison Martin, a packing-case and trunkmaker to the Duchesse of Berry, which was located 4 rue Neuve des Capucines. (Prior to this, in 1828, Maison Martin had purchased the workshop of Meffre—also a packer—founded in 1792, and located at 233 Rue Saint-Honoré.)

After Henri Morel's death in 1852, François became the director of the company. In 1853, he married a young couturier named Leopoldine Delaporte. Their son Edmond was born in 1860, followed soon thereafter by another son, Maurice. At the age of 25, Edmond Goyard (1860–1937) took over from his father, who then turned to making jewelry. "Maison Goyard" was given the new name of "E. Goyard Aine". The initial E not only acknowledged Edmond, it also paid homage to his grandfather, Edme Goyard, who had died six years earlier. Edmond went on to open boutiques in various locations – including Bordeaux, Biarritz and Monte Carlo, in addition to the John Wanamaker stores in New York and Philadelphia. Around the end of the 19th century, the mark ‘Ne Ct’ (meaning Notable Commerant) was adorning all catalogues, receipts and labels.

Edmond Goyard participated in the Exposition Universelle et Internationale of Paris, in 1900, where Goyard luggage won a bronze medal. In 1906, in Milan, it received a gold medal, and at the French-British Exposition of 1908 in London, it also won a gold medal. Maison Goyard was given the Award of Honour at the 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs. Goyard opened a specific department for "dogs, cats, monkeys". Here, they provided harnesses, kennels, boots and even protective automobile glasses for pets.

In 1923, on his 30th birthday and the 70th anniversary of Maison Goyard, Edmond's son, Robert Goyard (1893–1979) became Director, with Edmond remaining involved as Creative Director. (Captain Robert Goyard had been awarded the Legion of Honor, Croix de guerre with four citations and the Military Cross in the First World War.) A patent for the "Malle Bureau" was later obtained by Maison Goyard in 1931. Comprising a portable trunk which included a writing table, it could also accommodate a typewriter. Arthur Conan Doyle was one customer who ordered this trunk. In 1936, Robert Goyard decided to enter into a cooperative agreement with other "houses" in the Place Vendôme, including Boucheron, Cartier, Charvet, Chaumet, Guerlain, Morgan[disambiguation needed] and Ritz. Their offices were located at Goyard's headquarters at 233 rue Saint-Honore.

In the late 1990s, Maison Goyard was purchased by the Signoles family, and the company introduced several new colours at that time. Goyard will monogram their luggage's canvas with the initials of its customers upon request, and produces special orders and custom pieces, made to order in Carcassonne, France.

The Mistress

A mistress is a man's long-term female lover and companion who is not married to him, especially used when the man is married to another woman. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually, but not always, secret. And there is the implication that a mistress may be "kept"—i.e., that the man is paying for some of the woman's living expenses. Historically, the term has denoted a kept woman, who was maintained in a comfortable (or even lavish) lifestyle by a wealthy man so that she will be available for his sexual pleasure. Such a woman could move between the roles of a mistress and a courtesan depending on her situation and environment. In modern times, however, the word mistress is used primarily to refer to the female lover of a man who is married to another woman; in the case of an unmarried man it is usual to speak of a "girlfriend" or "partner." Historically a man "kept" a mistress. As the term implies, he was responsible for her debts and provided for her in much the same way as he did his wife, although not legally bound to do so. In more recent times, it is more likely that the mistress has a job of her own, and is less, if at all, financially dependent on the man.

A mistress is not a prostitute: while a mistress, if "kept", may essentially be exchanging sex for money, the principal difference is that a mistress keeps herself exclusively reserved for one man, in much the same way as a wife, and there is not so much of a direct quid pro quo between the money and the sex act. There is also usually an emotional and possibly social relationship between a man and his mistress, whereas the relationship to a prostitute is predominantly sexual. It is also important that the "kept" status follows the establishment of a relationship of indefinite term as opposed to the agreement on price and terms established prior to any activity with a prostitute.

The historically best known and most researched mistresses are the royal mistresses of European monarchs, for example Diane de Poitiers, Barbara Villiers, Nell Gwyn and Madame de Pompadour. However, the keeping of a mistress in Europe was not confined to royalty and nobility but permeated down through the social ranks. Anyone who could afford a mistress could have one (or more), regardless of social position. A wealthy merchant or a young noble might have a kept woman. Being a mistress was typically an occupation for a younger woman who, if she was fortunate, might go on to marry her lover or another man of rank. The ballad The Three Ravens (published in 1611, but possibly older) extolls the loyal mistress of a slain knight, who buries her dead lover and then dies of the exertion, as she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy. It is noteworthy that the ballad-maker assigned this role to the knight's mistress ("leman" was the term common at the time) rather than to his wife.

In the courts of Europe, particularly Versailles and Whitehall in the 17th and 18th centuries, a mistress often wielded great power and influence. A king might hold numerous mistresses but have a single "favourite mistress" or "official mistress" (in French, "maîtresse en titre"), as with Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour. The mistresses of both Louis XV (especially Madame de Pompadour) and Charles II were often considered to exert great influence over their lovers, the relationships being open secrets. Other than wealthy merchants and kings, Alexander VI is but one example of a Pope who kept mistresses, in violation of the celibacy vows required by the Catholic church. While the extremely wealthy might keep a mistress for life (as George II of England did with "Mrs Howard"), even after they were no longer romantically linked, such was not the case for most kept women. In 1736, when George II was newly ascendant, Henry Fielding (in Pasquin) has his Lord Place say, "…but, miss, every one now keeps and is kept; there are no such things as marriages now-a-days, unless merely Smithfield contracts, and that for the support of families; but then the husband and wife both take into keeping within a fortnight."

During the 19th century, a time in which morals became more puritanical, the keeping of a mistress became more circumspect, but conversely the tightening of morality also created a greater desire for a man to have a mistress. When an upper class man married a woman of equal rank, as was the norm, it was likely that she had been strictly brought up to believe that sexual intercourse was firmly for procreation rather than recreation. Some men thus went to a mistress if they wanted a less prudish female companion.[citation needed]

It occasionally occurs that the mistress is in a superior position both financially and socially to her lover. Catherine the Great was known to have been the mistress of several men during her reign; however, like many powerful women of her era, in spite of being a widow free to marry, she chose not to share her power with a husband, preferring to maintain absolute power alone. In literature, D. H. Lawrence's work Lady Chatterley's Lover portrays a situation where a woman becomes the mistress of her husband's gamekeeper. Until recently, a woman's taking a lover socially inferior to herself was considered much more shocking than the reverse situation.

20th century

During the 20th century, as many women became better educated and more able to support themselves, fewer women found satisfaction in the position of being a mistress and were more likely to pursue relationships with unmarried men. Since divorce became more socially acceptable, it was now easier for men to divorce their wives and marry the women who, in earlier eras, would have been their mistresses. However, the practice of having a mistress still existed among some married men, especially the wealthy. In Europe, for example, many cultures continued to acknowledge and condone the practice of keeping mistresses.

Men's Essential: The Scarf

One way to show that you are next level is to add a scarf to your repertoire.

Shamballa Bracelets

In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala (also spelled Shambala or Shamballa; Tibetan: བདེ་འབྱུང་; Wylie: bde 'byung, pron. De-jung) is a mythical kingdom hidden somewhere in Inner Asia. It is mentioned in various ancient texts, including the Kalachakra Tantra and the ancient texts of the Zhang Zhung culture which predated Tibetan Buddhism in western Tibet. The Bön scriptures speak of a closely related land called Olmolungring.

Whatever its historical basis, Shambhala gradually came to be seen as a Buddhist Pure Land, a fabulous kingdom whose reality is visionary or spiritual as much as physical or geographic. It was in this form that the Shambhala myth reached the West, where it influenced non-Buddhist as well as Buddhist spiritual seekers — and, to some extent, popular culture in general.

Sambhala (this is the form found in the earliest Sanskrit manuscripts of Kalacakra texts; the Tibetans usually transliterated this as "Shambhala") (Tib. bde 'byung) is a Sanskrit term of uncertain derivation. Commonly it is understood to be a "place of peace/tranquility/happiness". Shakyamuni Buddha is said to have taught the Kalachakra tantra on request of King Dawa Sangpo of Shambhala; the teachings are also said to be preserved there. Shambhala is believed to be a society where all the inhabitants are enlightened, actually a Buddhist Pure Land, centered by a capital city called Kalapa.

The Buddhist myth of Shambhala is adaptation of the earlier Hindu myth of Kalki of Sambhala found in the Mahabharata and the Puranas. The Buddhist version may be a mythicization of an actual culture whose geographical location can be found in Inner Asia.

Shambhala is ruled over by a line of Kings of Shambhala known as Kalki Kings (Tib. Rigden), a monarch who upholds the integrity of the Kalachakra tantra. The Kalachakra prophesies that when the world declines into war and greed, and all is lost, the 25th Kalki king will emerge from Shambhala with a huge army to vanquish "Dark Forces" and usher in a worldwide Golden Age. Using calculations from the Kalachakra Tantra, scholars such as Alex Berzin put this date at 2424 AD.

Manjushri Yashas (Tib. Rigdan Tagpa) is said to have been born in 159 BC and ruled over a kingdom of 300,510 followers of the Mlechha (Yavana or "western") religion, some of whom worshiped the sun. He is said to have expelled all the heretics from his dominions but later, after hearing their petitions, allowed them to return. For their benefit, and the benefit of all living beings, he explained the Kalachakra teachings. In 59 BC he abdicated his throne to his son, Puṇdaŕika, and died soon afterwards, entering the Sambhoga-káya of Buddhahood.

As with many concepts in the Kalachakra Tantra, the idea of Shambhala is said to have "outer", "inner", and "alternative" meanings. The outer meaning understands Shambhala to exist as a physical place, although only individuals with the appropriate karma can reach it and experience it as such. As the 14th Dalai Lama noted during the 1985 Kalachakra initiation in Bodhgaya, Shambhala is not an ordinary country:

Although those with special affiliation may actually be able to go there through their karmic connection, nevertheless it is not a physical place that we can actually find. We can only say that it is a pure land, a pure land in the human realm. And unless one has the merit and the actual karmic association, one cannot actually arrive there.

There are various ideas about where this society is located, but it is often placed in central Asia, north or west of Tibet. Ancient Zhang Zhung texts identify Shambhala with the Sutlej Valley in Himachal Pradesh. Mongolians identify Shambala with certain valleys of southern Siberia. In Altai folklore Mount Belukha is believed to be the gateway to Shambhala. Modern Buddhist scholars seem to now conclude that Shamballa is located in the higher reaches of the Himalayas in what is now called the Dauladhar mountains around Mcleodganj. The current Dalai Lama manages the Tibetan government in exile from Mcleodganj.

The inner and alternative meanings refer to more subtle understandings of what Shambhala represents in terms of one's own body and mind (inner), and the meditation practice (alternative). These two types of symbolic explanations are generally passed on orally from teacher to student.

The first Kalachakra masters of the tradition disguised themselves with pseudonyms, so the Indian oral traditions recorded by the Tibetans contain a mass of contradictions with regard to chronology.

Dodge Durango: Where has it been?

1. Toured around Europe
2. Went back to school and got an advanced degree (MBA)
3. It's been working out, more muscle and less fat

It's only been two years, but it has done more in two years than most cars/people do in a lifetime!

Don't Wipe Your Sperry's!

Many people have asked me,"how they should keep their Sperry's clean"? The answer is very simple, you don't. They were designed as a water/boat shoe and conditioned to be worn. The basic principle is the more beat up your Sperry's are, the more money you have...lol. If you don't believe me just pay attention the next time you see a Harvard or trust fund kid wearing a pair. They will definitely be "WORN".